Vaccinations let my kids do more!

Someone once told me that he and his siblings attended chicken pox parties when they were kids. That was how their moms dealt with the virus—let the kids get it while they were still young so that there won't be horrible scarring in their teens. These days, you won't have to throw a chicken pox party. You can just get your kids vaccinated!

Mommies, let's educate ourselves about our kids' health. When GlaxoSmithKline invited me and a few moms for an afternoon seminar on kids' health called P.L.A.Y. (Protection, Love and Activities for Young Kids), we hied off to Fun Ranch with our hubbies and babies pronto.
Here are the mommies having fun learning about diseases and how to prevent them. Yep, there were guessing games and puzzles and adventure hunts for moms and kiddies.

Since my babies were too young to participate, I stayed at the back with Vince. Here they are clambering all over me! I tried my darndest to listen to the lecture by Dr. Carmina Delos Reyes, a pediatrician whose expertise lies in pediatric infectious and tropical diseases. I got that little bit of info from The Filipino Doctor.

Dr. Delos Reyes talked about common childhood infections that we tend to ignore because, well, kids get sick. It happens. They die. They die??? Yes. Every year, Dr. Delos Reyes said, a million children die from pneumococcal diseases (PDs). PDs include meningitis, sepsis, bacteremia, pneumonia and acute otitis media (middle ear infection).

Our elders usually tell us when our kids get sick that as long as the child is still "makulit," there's nothing to worry about. Fever? Headache? Muscle pain? Colds? Cough? Every kid gets that! But we're the more informed generation now, right? And we don't sit back and let diseases ravage our kids! We fight!

As parents, we should arm ourselves with proper knowledge about our children's health. I'm happy I have my What to Expect books. I am a fan of kids' health websites like WebMD, Ask Dr. Sears, Kids Health, and Healthy Children. I love that our boys' pediatrician, Dr. Cricket Chen of St. Luke's Global, really takes the time to talk to us about each developmental milestone, each sickness (which happens really rarely in our boys!) and each vaccine with Vince and me.

It's very important to know what we can do to protect our children from so-called common diseases like PDs. Read up! There are many books and credible sources online. Mommy Mundo, P.L.A.Y.'s organizer, has been actively campaigning for preventive healthcare for our kids for many years (for more info, click here!). Plus, make sure you talk to your kid's pedia about vaccines.

My babies are vaccinated and breastfed!

But you know what the best way to keep your babies' immune system super strong and their little bodies protected against germs and bacteria and other nasty things? Not only is this amazing prevention step readily available, organic and natural, it's also FREE! What is this miraculous product, you ask? Breast milk.

Breastfeed your child as soon as he is born and keep him on your fabulous milk for as long as possible and you'll have a strong and healthy kid. Breastfeeding does these amazing things:

• Boosts immune system with infection-fighting white blood cells
• Prevents food allergies
• Protects against respiratory infections, diarrhea, dehydration, ear infections, meningitis, UTIs and many more!
• Reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome

With properly scheduled immunizations, great food, sunlight, fresh air, active play, breast milk and lotsa loving, your baby's good health is guaranteed!